Redlining in DSM
Urban Renewal and Freeway Construction
By the 1950s, Des Moines was almost 100% segregated. The African American population was confined to redlined neighborhoods which continued to see disinvestment. Around the early 1960s, 2 federal programs, Urban Renewal and the Interstate system were beginning to take effect around the country. Across Iowa, especially in the City of Des Moines, we see these two programs significantly disrupt and impact the African American community. Thousands of households were displaced and discriminated against in both the eminent domain and resettlement processes.
The History of Center Street
Center street was an African American neighborhood that grew into a cultural and economic epicenter by the late 1920s. It was blocks of black-owned businesses, most notably multiple social and jazz clubs which brought famous musicians from across the country to Des Moines. Most of the black economic, social, and cultural life on Center Street was lost when the interstate and Urban Renewal came through in the 1960s and 1970s. An area that had once served and supported the black community was bulldozed without a second thought.
